Marineford, Marine Headquarters
Inside his spacious office, Sengoku leaned back in his chair, a copy of the World Economic News in his hands. The bold headline was printed clearly across the newspaper:
"The Criminal Who Hijacked Heavenly Gold, Donquixote Doflamingo, Invited to Become a Member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea!"
The content of the newspaper, written by Morgans, was so provocative that the veins on Sengoku's forehead throbbed. He wished he could pummel Morgans to death.
Heavenly Gold was the yearly fee that nations affiliated with the World Government had to pay. Countries that failed to pay would lose their status, and their basic rights would vanish in the eyes of the World Government. Most of these nations would then become illegal territories where human traffickers and pirates ran rampant.
A small portion of the Heavenly Gold was used to support the Celestial Dragons, but the vast majority was used to operate the World Government's war machine and the Marines. Because of this, for nations that were not members of the World Government, not even the justice-upholding Marines would offer any assistance.
In short, if you don't pay for protection, you won't be protected.
The amount of Heavenly Gold was enormous. Most countries paid it once a year, which was already the limit of their ability. There was no way the World Government could ask for payment twice a year. In other words, Doflamingo's act of hijacking the Heavenly Gold was tantamount to strangling the World Government. If the World Government didn't get that Heavenly Gold back, they might not even be able to pay salaries for an entire year.
Logically, if an incident of this magnitude occurred, the World Government should have sent the CP0 or the Marines to handle it.
But for some reason, the World Government instead invited Doflamingo to become a Warlord, pardoning all his past crimes, in exchange for the Heavenly Gold that the Donquixote Family had taken!
Sengoku stared at the newspaper, his brows furrowed, and his mind filled with questions. Usually, candidates for the Warlords were first discussed by the Marines, then submitted to the Gorosei for confirmation and approval.
But this time, the Warlord appointment bypassed the Marines' evaluation process, and the decision was issued directly by the Gorosei!
Did the Celestial Dragons in Mariejois interfere? Why?
Sengoku stroked his beard, a wise expression appearing on his face.
Twenty years ago, the Donquixote clan of Homing renounced their status as Celestial Dragons and left Mariejois with his wife and two sons, Doflamingo and Rosinante. After that "Dragon Human chip" was removed from them, they became ordinary people. They were shunned by the other Celestial Dragons and no longer enjoyed any power. The World Government or the Marines no longer had to protect them. Even if they were beaten or killed, the Marines didn't need to send an Admiral for revenge.
Because the Celestial Dragons always saw themselves as gods, their reputation was extremely poor in society. So, when the former Celestial Dragon identity of the Homing family was exposed, they were mercilessly hunted.
After losing their wealth and status, and living without food in a garbage dump, Homing once called back to Mariejois and begged for his wife and two sons to be returned to their Celestial Dragon status. But the request was cruelly rejected. In his tumultuous life, Homing's wife died of illness, and his eldest son, Doflamingo, felt that his father was the root of all this tragedy.
In order to return to Mariejois and regain his Celestial Dragon identity, Doflamingo shot and killed his own father! However, even though he killed his father to prove his sincerity, a traitor was still a traitor. The Celestial Dragons remained indifferent and did not accept Doflamingo back.
In despair, Doflamingo began to mingle with the criminal underworld in North Blue, gradually establishing the Donquixote Family. On the other hand, after witnessing Doflamingo kill his father, Rosinante fled in fear and horror. He was coincidentally adopted by Sengoku.
Logically, Doflamingo, who had lost his status as a Celestial Dragon, was now an ordinary person and could no longer influence the Gorosei's decisions. So, the only reasonable answer was that Doflamingo made a secret deal with a certain Celestial Dragon, which allowed the Gorosei to make this decision that was so detrimental to the World Government's reputation!
Thump, thump, thump!
A sudden knock on the door interrupted Sengoku's thoughts. He answered, "Come in!"
Rosinante, wearing a coat of justice, opened the door and walked in. He placed a stack of documents on Sengoku's desk.
"Mr. Sengoku, these are the documents you need to handle."
"Hmm! How is the child you brought back?"
Hearing this, Rosinante's face was filled with joy. He smiled genuinely, "Thank you for your concern, Mr. Sengoku! After Law was treated with the Life Enhancer potion, his Amber Lead Syndrome has improved significantly, and the whitening on his body is gradually disappearing."
Sengoku smiled and nodded slightly, "That's good!" He deeply valued and trusted his adopted son. Sengoku knew Rosinante's character well, a child he had raised himself. Although he had once suspected some foul play, he chose to forgive him.
In addition, since Rosinante had obtained a lot of important information while undercover with the Donquixote Family, which greatly helped the Marines eradicate their criminal network, he was promoted from Lieutenant Colonel to Colonel after his mission ended and he returned to Marineford. Sengoku planned to make Rosinante his aide, and after he gained enough experience, he would be promoted to Brigadier General and trained to be a strong Vice Admiral in the future.
"Mr. Sengoku, I heard you will take over the Fleet Admiral position next month. That is truly well-deserved!" Rosinante laughed.
"Hahaha!... Yes! After all, Air Admiral Kong will be taking over the position of Commander-in-Chief of all forces in the World Government."
Sengoku smiled as he stroked his beard, which made him look very kind. Although he had been serving as an interim Fleet Admiral for a long time, now he would become the official Fleet Admiral. How could he not be happy?
Rosinante, who was about to say something else, couldn't help but let the light fade from his eyes after seeing the contents of the newspaper on Sengoku's desk.
"Mr. Sengoku, my brother Doflamingo, after he became a Warlord, was finally acquitted of prosecution. Even the Donquixote Family member we arrested, Vergo, could only be released due to his status as a Warlord. Isn't all our hard work over the years for nothing?"
Hearing this, Sengoku shook his head and refuted, "Not entirely. At the very least, our Marines have carried out a major clean-up of the underground forces throughout North Blue and removed some criminal 'tumors.' Although Doflamingo is now a Warlord, at our protest, the World Government also issued an order forbidding him from continuing to develop his power in North Blue in the future! As a result, his years of connections and foundation in North Blue can be said to be destroyed."
After chatting with Rosinante, Sengoku casually picked up a document on the table and began to read it.
It was an officer's resignation application. This wasn't strange. Since the start of the Great Pirate Era, many Marine officers with wavering beliefs and a fear of death had chosen to resign. For them, if there were no problems, the Marines would let them go.
The people whose resignation applications had to be reviewed by Sengoku were at least of Colonel rank.
Sengoku's gaze shifted to the "Reason for Resignation" column.
"The world is so big, I want to see it!"
Then he looked at the name column:
"Commodore of the G-5 Marine Branch, Carl D. Sephiroth."
Sengoku: "..."
This reason for Sephiroth's resignation gave Sengoku a headache for no reason.
The world is so big, you want to see it! What kind of reason is that?!
After thinking about it, Sengoku decided to call Sephiroth and ask what was really going on.